Hyväksymispäivämäärä

Tiivistelmä

Student performance has been used extensively in discussion about the quality of education systems in both academic and non-academic writing. This thesis examines the role of private and public provision of education in student performance. Using PISA data from 2003-2015 this thesis examines Finland and Sweden as most similar cases with a major difference in the role of market incentives in their education systems.

This thesis uses a multilevel regression model with student and school level variables. While private schools tend to correlate with higher student performance results for an individual student, the student level features such as socio-economic background have a more significant impact on student attainment. The analysis does not support the theoretical notion that through competition school quality will increase in both the private and public sector when measuring student performance. Further research into student selection can help in determining factors regarding the possible performance gap in private and public schools yet lower overall student performance in a system with a larger private sector.